Even in the hardest of times, books have the power to transport us away from our troubles, and give us a glimpse of the outside world, beyond even the most heartbreaking moments, and let us be free- if only for a few lost hours.

Currently on the bookshelf is a list of books we’re loving, which you should, too!

Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

“In the first few seconds an aching sadness wrenched his heart, but it soon gave way to a feeling of sweet disquiet, the excitement of gypsy wanderlust”

Nothing rivals Bulgakov’s ability to intertwine the past, present and mystical. Featuring an over-sized tomcat, the devil himself, and Pontius Pilate in the heart of Judea, Master and Margarita is a Russian classic brought to English in careful translation that doesn’t lose the heart of the piece.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

“I hate how the people who really get you are the ones you can never hold on to for very long. And the ones who don’t understand you at all stick around.”

Marisha Pessl is known for her debut, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and after many long years of anticipation, her next novel, also featuring a young female heroine caught in the throes of familial drama and naiveté emerges into the sunlight. Pessl’s writing is provocative. It makes the reader crave to turn the page, though the writing is so interesting and the plot so well-woven you don’t want to miss a thing.

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

“Like most others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles – a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other – that kept me going.”

Make it a double. Read the classic whirlwind adventure of the eccentric yet brilliant Hunter S. Thompson and then watch the film. While panned by critics, Depp’s performance is a homage to the writer (one of his close personal friends). On set, Depp would leave a chair out for Thompson, with his favorite drink and smokes. The film is worth seeing for the beautiful scenery and depressing love story of lavishing and languishing, but requires the beauty and flow of the book to be truly appreciated.